anorexia nervosa
Anorexia nervosa is a disorder
characterized by deliberate weight loss, induced and/or
sustained by the patient. The disorder occurs most
commonly in adolescent girls and young women, but
adolescent boys and young men may be affected more
rarely, as may children approaching puberty and older
women up to the menopause. Anorexia nervosa constitutes
an independent syndrome in the following sense: (a) the clinical features of the
syndrome are easily recognized, so that diagnosis is
reliable with a high level of agreement between
clinicians; Although the fundamental causes of anorexia nervosa remain elusive, there is growing evidence that interacting sociocultural and biological factors contribute to its causation, as do less specific psychological mechanism and a vulnerability of personality. The disorder is associated with undernutrition of varying severity, with resulting secondary endocrine and metabolic changes and disturbances of bodily function. There remains some doubt as to whether the characteristic endocrine disorder is entirely due to the undernutrition and the direct effect of various behaviours that have brought it about (e.g. restricted dietary choice, excessive exercise and alterations in body composition, induced vomiting and purgation and the consequent electrolyte disturbances), or whether uncertain factors are also involved. |
Diagnostic
guidelines > For a definite diagnosis, all the following are required: (a) Body weight is
maintained at least 15% below that expected (either lost
or never achieved), or Quetelet's body-mass index is 17.5
or less. Prepubertal patients may show failure to make
the expected weight gain during the period of growth. |